Child Care and Protection

A former Children Panel solicitor, Barbara Mitchels is also a psychotherapist and Director of Watershed Counselling Service in Devon. With TherapyLaw, Barbara provides consultancy, practitioner resources and workshops in the UK and abroad. Julie Doughty has practice experience as a former solicitor and guardian ad litem panel manager, and currently she is a lecturer in law at Cardiff University. Julie also writes widely in journals on child law topics and is the Editor of Seen and Heard, the journal of NAGALRO. Helen James has extensive experience as a children’s guardian, and is also an independent social worker with over 30 years’ experience and a trainer since 1989. She is a Director of Family Practice Contact Services, an agency with a primary focus on the delivery of contact and family support services across the UK. Safda Mahmood is an experienced Children Panel Solicitor in the West Midlands. He has extensive experience in all aspects of family law, private practice and local government, dividing his time between practice and teaching on the Law Society’s Children Panel training courses.

1 Glossary and Legislative Framework
2 Principles Underlying the Children Act 1989
3 Parental Responsibility
4 Every Child Matters: Child Protection Procedures in Health and Social Work
7 Care and Supervision Proceedings
8 Secure Accommodation
9 Education Supervision Orders
10 Police Powers under the Children Act 1989
11 Instructions and Case Preparation in Family Proceedings
12 Children’s Rights
13 Other Children Act Orders Available to the Court in Family Proceedings
14 Commencement and Transfer of Proceedings
15 Working With Children
16 Assessment of Children in Need and Care Planning
17 Appeals and Enforcement
18 Expert Evidence
19 Information, Guidance and Reference Works
20 Improving Law, Skills and Practice